24-08-2005 17:30									#1
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I'm entering my junior year and I still do not have a major though I've been taking university core and business admin courses for the past two years. I want to do something business-related but what specifically, I'm clueless.

Here are the business majors offered by my university. Can anyone tell me anything useful about these areas that would help me in making my decision? Should I stay the hell away from one? Are you yourself involved in a field? Anything...

Accounting
Actuarial Science (exactly what is this? it has the most stringent GPA requirement)
Economics
E-marketing
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Human Resources
Law and Business
Management Info Systems
Marketing
Real Estate
Risk Management
Management/Economics
Management/Employee Benefits
Management/Finance
Management/Healthcare
Management/Law and Business
Management/Marketing
Management/Property Liability

I also don't know if i should pick a specific major or go the more general route and pick the management/major option. please help


thank you

	24-08-2005 17:50									#2
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Actuarial Science has got to do with calculating insurance premiums and stuff like that.

	24-08-2005 18:27									#3
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If you actually want to do any of things on that list after you graduate, focus your efforts on that. If none of those things in particular grabs you, or you plan on going to grad school, you might be better served by taking a more broad approach.

Oh, and Actuarial Science is basically about calculating probabilities of outcomes as they relate to people - ie. risks of death etc. for insurance purposes. It can be quite lucrative, and is almost certainly filled with the most dull nerds who walk the face of the earth.

	24-08-2005 18:28									#4
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If you want to make lots of money, Real Estate.

quote: Originally said by Mark Twain Buy land. They quit making it.

Words to live by.

	24-08-2005 18:32									#5
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I do plan to go on to grad school... hopefully Wharton but, if failing that, Temple's Fox School.

so, kontiki, do you suggest going the management/major route if I'm going on to grad school?

	24-08-2005 18:45									#6
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Something associated with the health care/medical industry.
Pharmacist maybe.

	24-08-2005 18:52									#7
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healthcare? people have been touting about nursing for ten years now and now half of the females in college are nursing students! pharmacists too will be a dime a dozen in a few years i bet.

anyway, i've already decided on business. what specifically though I don't know...

	24-08-2005 18:58									#8
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You're screwing up, but glad you made a decision.

	24-08-2005 19:00									#9
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why am i screwing up?

	24-08-2005 19:02									#10
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quote: Accounting

Going into buisness it is a good idea to have a solid understanding of accounting. My sister-in-law is a CPA and has a private buisness that she does part time and makes out pretty well. I like accounting, not because it's boring, but because if coupled with another buisness degree can get you far. The most successful accountant I know was a corporate accountant for Canning companies around Fresno, CA. One of the companies he worked for was going bankrupt pretty fast because of poor buisness practices which were pretty easy to spot in his ledger, but the owners were stupid. In the end he bought the company at very reduced price and is now owner of a company that makes specialty products (sun dried tomatoes, olives with garlic in them, etc...). He is very successful.

quote: Actuarial Science (exactly what is this? it has the most stringent GPA requirement)

An actuary is a person who judges how much to insure something for and how much it will cost to insure it. I have a buddy who wants to do this. It sounds boring, but if you can hook up with a big insurance comapny or an auction house you can do well.

quote: Economics

Boring. IMO, unless you want to become DanS or Adam Smith economics can be more of a hobby for some who is buisness minded like yourself. I think those who major in Economics turn into investors, not buisness men.

quote: E-marketing

No idea, sounds like sales.

quote: Entrepreneurship

Is this a major? Sounds cool, but what kind of skills or knowledge will you obtain that you will not get from your chosen career path? If you learn to network and write a buisness plan do you pretty much have a minor in Ent? I don't know, sounds like "life skills" type course to me.

quote: Finance

I have a friend who got his degree in Finance and he does very well as a corporate banker. It sounds boring to me, and he is constantly going outside of his job to satisfy his career goals. Is that productive?

quote: Human Resources

People suck... don't deal with them.

quote: Law and Business

Business Law sounds interesting and could possibly give a lot of knowledge that others in whatever career path you choose will not have, but should. To me, this sounds most interesting, especially if you are willing to go to Law school afterwards.

quote: Management Info Systems

Sounds like a high paying job that will bore your socks off.

quote: Marketing

Many very, very wealthy people have this degree, or are successful because of their ability to sale. If you have the chutzpah/moxy required you can't go wrong.

quote: Real Estate

This, like Entrepeneurship, doesn't present a skill set that you wouldn't obtain easily by just persuing the career path. I would sooner get a finance degree and persue real estate.

quote: Risk Management

I don't know what this is. Sounds something like an actuary

quote: Management/Economics Management/Employee Benefits Management/Finance Management/Healthcare Management/Law and Business Management/Marketing Management/Property Liability

All very good. However, I think that Management degrees at the onset of a career can hurt even more than they can help. Imagine all the MBAs walking around out there with no real experience. They are all (well, most) greedy little school boys with no education to speak of. I could be wrong, but I think you would be better served getting one of the other degrees and then deciding if a Management degree is something you want or even need to grow within your company.

My advice; pick a career path or even an industry and then decide were you want to be in 10 years and then figure out, by studying those that are there, what to do. One thing that might be useful is to look at the board of directors for major corporations and then research their history and the steps they took to get where they are.

	24-08-2005 19:04									#11
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You spoke of numbers of people going to health care industry like 10 bazillion a year don't go into business.

This Sunday, do a quick scan of the Philly paper.
People get sick. In all probability, in your lifetiime they always will.

	24-08-2005 19:06									#12
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you shoud major in keepin' it real, dawg

[/ted striker]

	24-08-2005 19:09									#13
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quote: I think those who major in Economics turn into investors, not buisness men.

I went into law

Anyway, Finance is a good major from those I've known who have done it. Accounting is boring to most, but it depends on what type of person you are Speer. And being a law type, I find Law and Business to be intriguing. I did enjoy Economics, but Japher may be right that it doesn't really impart much business skills.

	24-08-2005 19:11									#14
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I hold a Bachelor's degree in Bus. Adm. and a Master's degree in Marketing (Economics), so I can shed a light on some of these areas.

My first recommendation is to look for a balance: don't go too lateral, but don't go too deep either.
These directions are not recommended because they are too focused and thus give you little added value in a broader perspective:

E-marketing
Entrepreneurship
Human Resources
Management Info Systems
Risk Management
Management/Employee Benefits
Management/Healthcare
Management/Property Liability

Now, the remaining areas can be divided into four categories: (1) technical and financial, (2) law & property, (3) general economic science, and (4) commercial.

(1)
If you like to work with numbers and you have no problems with your job being as imagination-less as a Malaysian car, then go with technical/financial. Mind you, these are "hot" areas where you will have good chances in the job market for very good salaries.

Accounting
Actuarial Science (basically it's insurance maths)
Finance (might be a bit too broad, i.e. a variety of courses running from pension funds to treasury)
Management/Finance

(2)
Law and property can come in handy as well. I found my law course very interesting, but I don't know how it'd have panned out if I actually focused on this area. It is incredibly boring and tedious browsing through law articles. I think I'd pick just one course from this that you might find interesting (e.g. contract law) to increase knowledge on a lateral base.

Law and Business
Real Estate
Management/Law and Business

(3)
It's a mixed bag here, some technical aspects, some softer aspects. Nothing really exciting, and job security is a bit of mixed bag as well.

Economics
Management/Economics

(4)
This is my area. I like the commercial area a lot more because it is more dynamic and you deal with many more issues. You sit pretty much in the middle, between consumer and back-office (the technical/financial area is very back-office). The only problem is that the job market is not really tremendous in this particular area.

Marketing
Management/Marketing


So, really, it's about your own passion and the challenge that you're after that determines your choice.

	24-08-2005 19:14									#15
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quote: I'd pick just one course from this that you might find interesting (e.g. contract law)

Interesting? Contract Law?... this is why I am an engineer

quote: So, really, it's about your own passion and the challenge that you're after that determines your choice.

So true. It doesn't matter what you pick, if you don't like it you will suck at it.

	24-08-2005 19:16									#16
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quote: Originally posted by Japher Interesting? Contract Law?... this is why I am an engineer

Well, I like to know when and how I can fire someone

	24-08-2005 19:17									#17
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quote: Originally posted by Gangerolf Actuarial Science has got to do with calculating insurance premiums and stuff like that.

Also pension fund stuff. But that job field is slowly diminishing, so it's not a great idea to enter it.

	24-08-2005 19:17									#18
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quote: Originally posted by Albert Speer I do plan to go on to grad school... hopefully Wharton but, if failing that, Temple's Fox School. so, kontiki, do you suggest going the management/major route if I'm going on to grad school?

Probably, but frankly, if you are going for an MBA it doesn't matter much. First, you ain't getting into a top MBA program right after undergrad, so you're going to have to get some good work experience under your belt. And what you do with that is going to go a long way in determining where and when you go to school. Second, AFAIK, most MBA programs start out with a broad exposure to business and then allow you to narrow your focus. So a management/major route would probably give you the widest background for what you end up studying, but not as much specific knowledge in any one area - so really, six of one and half a dozen of the other. Third, people who take business majors as undergrads tend to be quite a small minority in MBA programs. The biggest slices tend to be engineers and then a mix of arts programs. So, it's not like taking a business undergrad is even a requirement for an MBA program.

Overall, my first point is the most important. You need work experience to get into a top MBA school. So you may want to tailor your studies to that, if you think it even matters. Using myself as an example, my undergrad degree was in International Relations. I went into banking after I graduated (not exactly closely related to my degree) and got into a top MBA school on the strength of solid (but not world-beating) undergrad grades, a 95th percentile GMAT score (definitely not among the highest in my class) and four years of work experience where I moved quickly up the ladder, received individual accolades and got glowing recommendations from my superiors. I have no doubt that it's the last thing on that list that had the biggest impact.

	24-08-2005 19:18									#19
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quote: Originally posted by Zopperoni Well, I like to know when and how I can fire someone

In the US, whenever you feel like it.

	24-08-2005 19:21									#20
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Ah, didn't even see:

Management/Employee Benefits

I can shed some light on this, even though I'm not a business major, because that is the field I work in (for the government though). Employee benefits can be very dull at times, with all the different fiduciary requirements to learn (as management, it's absolutely necessary to know that). However, it can be a rewarding field. Every company needs those knowledgable about Employee Benefits and those that know ERISA pretty well will be wanted.

	24-08-2005 19:22									#21
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Contract Law

Also comes in handy with creating... contracts! Believe it or not .

	24-08-2005 19:23									#22
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quote: I can shed some light on this, even though I'm not a business major, because that is the field I work in (for the government though). Employee benefits can be very dull at times, with all the different fiduciary requirements to learn (as management, it's absolutely necessary to know that). However, it can be a rewarding field. Every company needs those knowledgable about Employee Benefits and those that know ERISA pretty well will be wanted.

He can do that with Actuarial Science. That's what my dad does.

	24-08-2005 19:25									#23
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quote: Originally posted by Kuciwalker Also pension fund stuff. But that job field is slowly diminishing, so it's not a great idea to enter it.

The pension fund part, yes, but not the insurance premium stuff. They don't need too many actuaries for pensions anymore since most plans are switching or have switched from a Defined Benefit plan to a Defined Contribution plan (ie, your 401k). In a DC plan, there is less need for actuaries because the investments are participant directed. Though someone does have to choose the diversified investment options for the employees to invest in.

Insurance premium stuff is a pretty growing field though .

	24-08-2005 19:26									#24
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quote: Originally posted by Kuciwalker quote: I can shed some light on this, even though I'm not a business major, because that is the field I work in (for the government though). Employee benefits can be very dull at times, with all the different fiduciary requirements to learn (as management, it's absolutely necessary to know that). However, it can be a rewarding field. Every company needs those knowledgable about Employee Benefits and those that know ERISA pretty well will be wanted. He can do that with Actuarial Science. That's what my dad does.

Some of it... the fiduciary liability part is a real killer (you'd be surprised how many mangers have no clue what they are liable for) and would be stressed in a Management/Employee Benefit major over an Actuarial Science one.

	24-08-2005 19:27									#25
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui The pension fund part, yes, but not the insurance premium stuff.

That's what I meant. Pensions actuaries as opposed to insurance actuaries.

	24-08-2005 19:30									#26
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quote: Originally posted by Albert Speer healthcare? people have been touting about nursing for ten years now and now half of the females in college are nursing students! pharmacists too will be a dime a dozen in a few years i bet. anyway, i've already decided on business. what specifically though I don't know...

Pharmacists will never be a dime a dozen . Pre-pharm is tougher than pre-med.

	24-08-2005 19:39									#27
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Oh, and I would keep away from "management" majors. Pick a major that you like and can give you real skills, in that order.

You won't get into management right off the bat unless you know somebody; instead, you will spend time in the trenches proving your dependability and initiative. If you do that well enough, it won't matter what major you had in school, but proving yourself will be much harder without the basic skills a non-management degree can provide (it's hard to become head of accounting without knowing accounting).

	24-08-2005 19:43									#28
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Also, what Japher said.

	24-08-2005 19:47									#29
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take what you like the best.

	24-08-2005 19:49									#30
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quote: Originally posted by Albert Speer healthcare? people have been touting about nursing for ten years now and now half of the females in college are nursing students! pharmacists too will be a dime a dozen in a few years i bet. anyway, i've already decided on business. what specifically though I don't know...

Accounting is the only valuable business degree. Good luck if you get something else. You'll need it.